The Dream
by Captain Luludee
Summary: Evey awakes in the Shadow Gallery with a bad dream. She has had it before, but has never had anyone to talk to about it. V's concern for her changes that, and brings them closer. Oneshot Now new and improved!


_A/N: Hello all! I have made a few minor changes to this story. I was inspired by_ Clockwork Butterfly. _Thank you for the suggestions, I took them to heart. The story is now a bit longer, and I fixed any errors I could find. I hope you will all find this to be an improvement on the original!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own _'V for Vendetta' _or _Shakespear's sonnets 115 & 116.

* * *

Darkness engulfed Evey as she opened her eyes and sat up in her bed with a loud gasp. She had the dream again, that horrible dream that always left her scared. No it was more than scared, she could not explain the feeling. It made her heart race and her breath quicken, and left her wanting nothing more than to hide her face under her pillow in the hopes of finding a small amount of safety. It did not help that she was not at home, but in the Shadow Gallery, a place she still did not feel completely comfortable in, even if she had gotten use to it.

Evey tried to compose herself; to slow down her breathing. _It was just a dream, it's over,_ she told herself silently. Once she was able to calm herself, Evey rested her head on her pillow and closed her eyes, in an effort to get back to sleep. Sleep, however evaded her like a frightened mouse hiding from a cat. She tossed and turned for what felt like hours, but, in truth, could only have been a few moments. Finally, she lay still, and everything was silent around her. It was in this absolute silence that she was able to hear the otherwise inaudible movement of someone just outside her door. She strained to listen, and there it was again. She got out of bed in a panic and walked over to the door, pausing for a moment with her hand on the knob. She took a breath and opened it quickly. Standing outside her door was a tall man in a mask. His black-clad body was almost invisible against the darkness that filled the Shadow Gallery. Evey gasped sharply at the sight of him.

"V! Oh, you scared me."

"My apologies Evey. You sounded as if you were startled by something. I simply wanted to see that you were okay. I was just about to go back to my room."

"It was nothing," Evey began, more touched by his concern than she would have thought, "just a bad dream."

V was silent, unsure of what to say or do. He stood there, wondering if he should leave when Evey spoke again.

"I don't think I can go back to sleep just yet. I think I'll go sit on the couch."

V moved to let her pass by him when a sudden thought jumped into his head. He would have dismissed it quickly, but he voiced it before he knew what he was doing.

"Would you like me to accompany you?" he asked, immediately regretting it. _Why did you ask her that? She's only going to say no, _he thought.

Evey smiled at him in consideration.

"Yes I would," she said, grateful that she would not have to be alone with her thoughts. She knew that she would not be able to get her mind off the dream, no matter how hard she tried to focus on something pleasant.

V was ready to turn back toward his room with the assumption that she would reject his offer. When she accepted, he stood stunned for a moment, wondering if he had heard Evey's answer correctly. He flirted with the idea of asking her to repeat it, but as he stared into her earnest eyes, he was pulled out of his disbelief. As unexpected as it was, Evey wanted him to stay with her. As V came to this realization, a strange feeling coursed through him. It felt something like happiness mixed with apprehension. It was something he had never felt before; or perhaps he had only forgotten it. It had been so long since V had felt anything except the drive for vengeance. He found himself wondering what it was about this girl that had him feeling emotions that he could not define. It all began the moment he came upon her in that alley. Ever since it was as if she had cast a spell on him that he had no idea how to break. And though he tried with everything inside him to feel differently, he didn't mind the new emotions he felt almost on a daily basis since this beautiful young woman had entered his life.

"As you wish," V stated simply, bowing to her and gesturing that she go ahead of him.

Evey smiled her sweet, simple smile that captivated him. She walked slowly to the couch and sat on one side, V close behind her.

"Evey, may I ask what your dream was about?" he questioned as he sat down beside her.

Evey stared straight ahead, uncomfortably. She felt the overwhelming fear rise inside her once again. It was amazing how just thinking about the dream could spark that feeling so quickly.

"I am sorry, I should not have asked."

Evey turned her attention to him. The smiling face of the mask had a strange affect on her. She was pulled away from her fear. A comfortable safety settled upon her. It was amazing how safe she felt around this man whom she scarcely knew.

"No, no. It's okay. It was about . . . my parents. About the day they were taken from me. I have it often actually," she said softly.

"Evey . . . " The way he said her name almost made her want to cry. _Why?_ She asked herself.

"I'm sorry, Evey," he concluded.

"The worst part of it is, after I wake up, I can still see the look on my Mother's face. She was terrified, V. But, somehow, I know she wasn't worried about what would happen to her. She was terrified because she was worried about me. I can never help feeling guilty for that," she said sadly.

"Mother's are always worried about their children," V stated, attempting reassurance, "especially in extreme situations. Your mother loved you, Evey."

"I know . . . but, I couldn't help her."

"That was not your fault. You were a child. There was nothing you could have done."

As V spoke, Evey felt tears well up in her eyes. She knew that everything V had said was true, but that did not change the fact that the night her parents were taken was a night that would haunt her for the rest of her life. She silently attempted to hide her face behind her hair as a tear rolled down her cheek.

V was unsure of how to comfort her. He had never thought of himself as a compassionate man, but the silent shaking of Evey's small frame moved him. Without thinking, his hand rested reflexively on her shoulder. He felt her body relax under his tender hand. Evey breathed in deeply and turned her head toward him, tears glistening on her soft skin.

"I'm sorry, V."

"Why?" he asked, his head slightly cocked to the side.

"I don't want to be a bother to you."

"My dear Evey, you could never be a bother to me."

Though V's eyes were hidden behind his mask, Evey had the strange feeling that if she could see them, they would tell her that he meant what he said.

"Do you ever have bad dreams V?" Evey asked after a momentary silence.

"Yes," V answered, not taking his eyes off her face.

"Are they about the fire?"

"Yes . . . among other things," V said in a short, simple answer, causing Evey to wonder what he meant.

"Is there anything I can do to make you more comfortable?" he asked, changing the subject.

Evey could not help but notice that V was reluctant to reflect on his nightmares. Not wanting to pry, Evey let the subject drop.

"Well actually, there is something . . . " she said, suddenly remembering what her mother use to do when she had a bad dream, "never mind, it's silly."

Evey hesitated, wondering what V would think of her if she asked him.

"Evey, whatever you ask of me I will do," he said earnestly.

"My mother . . . use to . . . read to me," she said softly, finding herself drawn back to a rainy night when she was a child.

"I remember this one night, when I was very young, I woke up terrified. My heart was racing, I could barely breathe. My mother came into my room and got into my bed. She held me until I stopped crying, and then, she read to me until I fell asleep. It became a sort of tradition after that. Whenever I would have a nightmare, she would read to me, I would always fall asleep to the sound of her voice. It was the only time in my life I remember feeling genuinely safe."

V smiled behind his mask. The look on Evey's face as she spoke of her mother was endearing, and he could not help being affected by it. In that moment, he could think of nothing that would bring him more joy than to read to her.

"That," he said, "is not silly."

She smiled at him appreciatively as he got up to find a book. Moments later he came back with one in his hand. He held it out for her to examine.

"Shakespeare," he said smiling, "what else?"

He sat back down and was surprised when Evey moved closer to him. She laid her head on his leg and closed her eyes, waiting for him to begin. V sat motionless for a moment. He looked down at the beautiful head of hair that now rested on his body. He was moved by a sudden impulse to touch the bouncy curls with his gloved hand. Finding the impulse irresistible, he did so cautiously, as if afraid of the consequences such an action might bring. When no reaction came from Evey, he moved his fingers through a long strand. V found himself regretting that he could not feel it's silkiness through his thick glove. He stared at her for a moment, with another new emotion that he could not name. Content, he opened the book and began to read.

"'Those lines that I before have writ do lie,  
Even those that said I could not love you dearer:  
Yet then my judgment knew no reason why  
My most full flame should afterwards burn clearer.  
But reckoning Time, whose million'd accidents  
Creep in 'twixt vows, and change decrees of kings,  
Tan sacred beauty, blunt the sharp'st intents,  
Divert strong minds to the course of altering things;  
Alas! why fearing of Time's tyranny,  
Might I not then say, 'Now I love you best,'  
When I was certain o'er incertainty,  
Crowning the present, doubting of the rest?  
Love is a babe, then might I not say so,  
To give full growth to that which still doth grow?'"

Evey lay motionless. She too had been surprised at what she had done. She rested her head on his leg before she knew what she was doing. It seemed like a very natural thing to do, and once it was done, she didn't regret it. His leg was warm and comfortable, and once again she felt safe knowing that he was near her. She smiled when she realized that V had not removed his hand from her head. She took a deep breath and let it out, feeling his fingers run through her hair. It was a comforting sensation, and mingled with the sound of his deep, entrancing voice filling the air around her, it was enough to fill her with a sense of safety and security. She had not felt so content in a very long time. Evey listened to V's voice, and just as when her mother read to her on those frightening nights, she was soon drifting into a peaceful sleep, wishing that the moment would never end.

"'Let me not to the marriage of true minds  
Admit impediments. Love is not love  
Which alters when it alteration finds,  
Or bends with the remover to remove:  
O, no! it is an ever-fixed mark,  
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;  
It is the star to every wandering bark,  
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.  
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks  
Within his bending sickle's compass come;  
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,  
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.  
If this be error and upon me prov'd,  
I never writ, nor no man ever lov'd.'"

V knew when she had fallen asleep. He stopped reading and looked down at her, and once again combed her curls with his fingers. He wanted to stay there forever, with her in his lap.

He closed the book and set it aside. His mind wandered to the verses he chose to read. The beauty of the sonnets struck him as he looked down on the peaceful face of the girl in his lap.

After awhile, he picked her up. She stirred but did not wake. Her arm found it's way around his neck as he carried her to her bed and laid her down gently, covering her up. She rolled over and continued to sleep. He stood by her bedside for a long time, just looking at her; taking in her serene and gentle features. In the Shadow Gallery V had collected many pieces of priceless, beautiful art, but in that moment, he knew that none of it could compare to the beauty of the sleeping figure before him. He watched her breathe slowly and steadily. _What is coming over me?_ the voice in his head asked. He smiled to himself because the answer was obvious.

It was her.

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End file.
